31 Winter 2026 ntroduction Since October 7, 2023, UK universities have witnessed a surge of antisemitism on campus, in classrooms, and online.1 Previously, antisemitism had largely been masked by anti-Israel narratives and sentiments, but those masks have been ripped off since 2023. The triangulation of antisemitism between the far right, far left, and radical Islamism has been seen within universities, although mostly from the latter two points of that triangle. Antisemitism has led to violence against people and property, the open expression of attitudes, and direct and indirect forms of discrimination in physical and online spaces. The impact has been overwhelming for many staff and students, in some cases leading to complete withdrawal from university campuses or from academia itself. Before examining what has been occurring and what should be done, it is important to discuss antisemitism, tropes, and manifestations. Antisemitism is a global phenomenon that draws on various theories and conspiracies. It is expressed through tropes and narratives, and it is manifested in many forms of direct and indirect action. Prejudice or hatred of Jews traces its roots to major religions and then to pseudoscientific theories developed after the Age of Enlightenment, which were used to legitimize antisemitism beyond religious narratives and doctrines. One of the oldest antisemitic narratives is that Jews bear collective guilt for Jesus being murdered by the Romans. That Christian antisemitic trope depicts Jews as cunning, malicious, controlling, powerful, and evil, and is based on Jews being descendants of Judas or even of Satan.2 It is seen in religious teachings and depicted in art and literature. It was only formally renounced in 19653 by Pope Paul VI and yet it continues to be a motivation for antisemitic acts.4 Another religiously framed image that continues to be repeated is the “blood libel” trope, which falsely alleges that Jews engage in the ritual murder of non-Jews.5 Racialized antisemitism includes depicting Jews as a different breed than other humans, as sub-human, as vermin, rodents, consorting with pigs, and/or excluded from civilization.6 Another widespread contemporary conspiracy is that Jews are a powerful, global cabal that controls the world by manipulating governments, banks, the media, and industries. The trope of the wandering people using their host states to advance their collective interests can be found in the notorious The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.7 Despite being exposed as a fraud and forgery, the book remains on base for modern “No Zios on Campus”: UK Universities Since October 7 Rosa Freedman 1. See, e.g., Rosa Freedman and David Hirsh, eds., RESPONSES TO 7 OCTOBER: UNIVERSITIES (Routledge 2024); Rosa Freedman and Laura Vaughan, “I have never felt less protected as a Jew”: Antisemitism at UK Universities since 7th October 2023, INTRA-COMMUNAL PROFESSORIAL GROUP (2024). 2. “Christian Identity Movement,” ADL (April 5, 2017), available at https://www.adl.org/resources/backgrounders/ christian-identity 3. Pope Paul VI, “Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions,” THE VATICAN (Oct. 28, 1965), available at https://www.vatican.va/archive/ hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_ decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html 4. Nick Noack, “Children beat, burn effigy of Judas in Poland,” THE WASHINGTON POST (Apr. 23, 2019), available at https://www.washingtonpost.com/ world/2019/04/23/children-beat-effigy-judas-polandamid-persistence-medieval-anti-semitism/; Callum Paton, “Polish Town Celebrates Easter With Anti-Semitic Effigy, Government Calls it ‘Idiotic,’” NEWSWEEK (April 23, 2019), available at https://www.newsweek.com/antisemitic-judas-effigy-satans-blamed-idiotic-pseudoreligious-chutzpah-1403445 5. Anthony Julius et al., “Antisemitism: An Assault on Human Rights,” AJC (Aug. 2001), available at https:// www.ajc.org/anti-semitism-an-assault-on-human-rights 6. This approach was used to justify the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. 7. See, e.g., Binjamin W. Segel, A LIE AND A LIBEL: THE HISTORY OF THE PROTOCOLS OF THE ELDERS OF ZION (U of Nebraska Press 1996). I
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